No Longer Afraid
by DaughteroftheOneTrueKing
Summary: Neville takes on a doomed mission


**Hi everybody :) I'm back with another QLFC fic, and it's… round 10! Season's nearly over, can you believe it? It's passed so quickly! Anyhow, this round is about changing history! We were given several characters, and if they lived in canon, they must die in our fics, and vice versa. As Captain, I assigned the characters to everyone on my Wasps team, and I picked Neville Longbottom for myself. That means that as he lives and becomes the Herbology teacher in canon, he will be killed mercilessly in this fic. I hope you enjoy this, as I enjoy writing these for you guys!**

**Word Count: 1556**

Neville looked carefully around the corner, checking that neither the Carrows nor any of the reinstated Inquisitorial Squad were coming his way. Seeing that the way was clear, he proceeded down the corridor, wand aimed and ready. He was prepared for the fight he knew would soon come.

The hall was silent, and as he walked, his footsteps echoed. His breath fogged in the air; It was only April, after all, and still chilly in the evenings. He kept his mind focused on his mission; a pair of second years who were chained in the dungeons and were being tortured. The report had come from, of all people, Astoria Greengrass. She'd cornered him after History of Magic that afternoon and told him. She had also given him another piece of information.

"They're going to come after you," she had said, looking furtively around to make certain they weren't being eavesdropped on. "I don't know if they're planning to kill you or just imprison you…" She hadn't needed to finish the thought. Neither option would be a pleasant one.

He knew why they wanted to take him, of course. He knew that his gran had been attacked by the bumbling Dawlish, and then gone into hiding. They'd gone after her to try and get him to fall in line; he had been causing trouble for the Carrows and Snape since the first day of term. They had hoped that by capturing Gran, he'd behave in order to keep her safe, but Dawlish had been no match for his formidable grandmother. He took pride in this, but now it seemed his own safety was now in danger as well.

Arriving at a flight of stairs, Neville aimed his wand and said, "_Lumos." _The main hallways had been lit, but these stairs were like an abyss. His wand light illuminated the passage, and he carefully descended, ever watchful of pursuants. It was a winding flight of stairs, which made him nervous. He wouldn't be able to detect anyone coming up the stairs or from behind him until they were right on top of him, but he managed to push down the fear. He had to rescue those kids, then he could go into hiding in the Room of Requirement, as he, Ginny, and Luna had discussed many times.

Finally, he arrived at the bottom of the staircase and peeked around the corner to check for safety. Again, all was clear. This was starting to worry him, as well. Surely there would be people patrolling the corridors, especially down here, where they kept students who were making trouble?

A voice in the back of his mind said, _Something is wrong here, _but again, he ignored it. He was Gryffindor for a reason. After so many years of believing he was stupid and cowardly, here he was, on a rescue mission. The Neville from first year would never have done this. Hell, even the Neville from two years ago wouldn't have done either. But the war had changed everyone, and he was no exception.

Finally arriving at the heavy door that was the entrance to the dungeons, Neville murmured, "_Alohomora." _He heard the click of the locks and knew the door was open. The spell had worked, and that too added to Neville's fear. The Carrows were powerful, surely they would have better protection here than a spell a first year could accomplish? He nearly turned back, but the thought of the kids, scared, in pain, and alone save each other, kept him going. They needed him, and if he backed down now, he really would be a coward.

Quickly pulling open the door, he shut it behind him. Now, at least, no one would know that someone had come in here on a simple glance. If someone came to check on the students, however… Neville decided to not think about things that he would be unable to change.

Facing the dungeon, he saw the students that he had come to help. There was a boy and a girl, she wearing Gryffindor robes and he, Ravenclaw. Both looked barely older than twelve. He felt a surge of anger that these poor kids had to be put through this unimaginable torment.

"Shh," Neville whispered, holding a finger to his lips as he cautiously made his way towards them. "I'm going to help you get out of here, and we're going to hide from the Carrows and Snape somewhere they'll never find us."

The girl nodded quickly, and the boy followed suit. Neville was glad they were conscious; he had no idea what he would have done if he'd had to carry them. Not that they looked like they weighed a lot.

"Do either of you still have your wands?" Neville asked them.

"No," the boy responded. "They took them right off."

Neville had suspected this, but it was not great news. They could have used an extra wand. "That's fine," he said. "Hold on, and I'll get you guys out of these chains."

Neville performed quick Unlocking Charms on both of their shackles, and they rubbed their chafed ankles and wrists. The boy was a bit unsteady on his feet, leaning on the girl for balance. "Okay, we're going to the Room of Requirement. If we get separated, it's on the seventh floor at a bare space of wall across from a tapestry of a wizard running around a fire looking ridiculous. You just need to think about what you want, and it'll let you in. You guys got it?"

The boy, now more steady, said, "Yeah, I get it." The girl nodded, determination in her eyes.

"Also, can you guys tell me your names? It'll make it easier if we know each other's names at least. I'm Neville Longbottom." Neville didn't want to keep referring to them as "the kids" after all.

"I'm Hestia," the girl said, giving the room they were in a once-over.

"And I'm Xavier," the boy followed. "And we know you're Neville Longbottom. You're Harry Potter's friend."

Neville wasn't exactly surprised that they knew who he was. He'd been friends with Harry since their first year, and they'd gotten to know each other better more recently. And this past year, he'd caused enough trouble in school for the Carrows that he had gained notoriety on par with Fred and George Weasley.

"Okay, Hestia, Xavier, we're just going to take it slow. One corridor at a time, making sure every area is clear before we move on, okay. And be silent. If someone hears us, we're dead."

With those ominous words, the trio made for the door of the dungeon. Neville winced at the noise of the old hinges, but they were quickly out of the dungeon and hurrying down the hall. They encountered no one as they ascended the stairs and crept along deserted corridors. It was kind of creepy for Hogwarts to be so silent.

Neville almost thought he was going to pull off the rescue, and allowed himself to relax. It was this that caused the whole thing to fall apart. He didn't check around a corner on the fourth floor properly, and as they turned to hurry down the hall, a woman stepped in front of him.

Alecto Carrow did not look imposing, being a good six inches shorter than Neville himself, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in spades with her reputation and general aura of menace.

"Three students out of their nice cozy beds," she gloated. "You three should be asleep!"

Neville didn't waste a moment. Aiming his wand at the Death Eater, he cast, "Stupefy!" The spell hit Alecto, and she fell to the ground. Turning to Hestia and Xavier, he exclaimed, "Remember what I told you! Go there! I'll stall her and be there once I can lose her."

Xavier started to follow Neville's command, but Hestia hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

_Definitely not, _he thought to himself. To Hestia, he said, "Sure. This witch is nothing." It was a complete bluff, but Hestia seemed to buy it. She rejoined Xavier, and they ran down the corridor.

Neville had no time to feel proud that he had succeeded. Turning back to face Alecto, he saw that she was already getting back to her feet. She aimed her wand, saying, "Blood traitors are worse than Mudbloods in my book!"

Neville taunted, "Why? Were your parents actually decent people?" Knowing the duel wouldn't last much longer, he cast the first spell he could think of. "_Petrificus Totalus." _

When it missed, that was the end. Alecto screamed in rage, and as she did so, cast a spell, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Neville hadn't been ready for the curse, so had no time to try and dodge it. He had no defenses. No spell could stop it.

For a moment, he was terrified. He had no idea if it would hurt and had no answers to the questions of death. But as he thought of Hestia and Xavier, even now heading to the Room of Requirement three floors above, made him realize that he was not afraid. After what he'd just done, death would be quite simple.

For a moment, he was enveloped in the green light of the spell. His last thought was that it was actually quite pretty.


End file.
